Stocking



Oct. 22, 1935. R, P 5 2,018,248

STOCKING I Filed April '7, 1955 1/ e 1 1 e I e RICHARD P BURNER 3mm attornego Patented Oct. 22,1935

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE s j 2,018,248 v STOCKING Richard P. Biirner, West Pa., assignor to The Nolde and 'Horst Company, Reading, Pa, a corporation of Pennsylvania Application April 7, 1933, Serial No. 664,859 3 Claims. (01. si t-181) This invention relates to full fashioned stockings and particularly to reenforcing the parts of the stocking foot and toe pocket thereof which are subjected to the greatest wear.

Among the points of greatest wear in stockings are the toe pockets and the sides of the foot portions adjacent the same, which not only are subjected to the forward thrust of the toes, but to the friction against the shoe lining due to the natural flexing of the foot in walking. And while the toe pocket and foot sole are ordinarily reenforced with extra thread or knitted of a heavier thread, there are portions thereof, as the top and sides of the toe pocket and adjacent top foot portions that receive such extra wear as to call for additional protection. Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to so form and reenforce these parts of the stocking foot as to increase their resistance to wear. A main object of the present invention is to improve the re- Q enforcement of the toe pocket in connection with the characteristic diamond point toe of full fashioned stockings, which feature in addition to its structural qualities is valuable because of its long acceptance as an identifying mark of full fashioned stockings.

In the drawing: Fig. 1 is a view of the-foot portion of a full fashioned stocking embodying the present invention as it appears upon the foot; and

Fig. 2 is a view of the foot-blank as produced by the knitting machine.

In knitting the major part of the foot three carriers are employed, one supplying the body 3 thread and two supplying sole reenforcing threads to produce an instep portion a knit of the body thread and sole portions b each knit of the body threadand a reenforcing thread. From the point I the carriers for the reenforcing I 40 threads have their traverse gradually increased to knit said extensions b of the reenforcing thread overlying corresponding areas of the instep which are being knit of the body thread. Additional carriers are also set in operation to knit gradually 45 widening panels e overlying the sole-extensions b from a wale alined with the junctions 2 of sole and'instep to or adjacent the inner edges of the sole extensions b.

The panels e are shown in Figs. 1 and 2 as of 6 lesser area than the sole extensionsb in orderto more clearly illustrate the multi-ply constructions thus provided adjacent the toe pocket inwardly of the sole portions, although the panels may be, and preferably are of substantially the same area as the sole extensions. As a result,

three-ply reenforced areas are provided in the stocking foot at the points where frictionagainst the lining caused by natural foot flexing within the shoe causes excessive-strain and wear on the stocking foot.

At the beginning of the toe pocket, the toe yarn carrier is set in operation together with a carrier supplying an additional thread for reenforcing the central portion I located between the side- 'and-under-toe portions 9. After a few courses 10 have been knit the narrowing mechanism is brought into operation to narrow the toe pocket by inward transfer of end loops. Two sets of narrowing points are employed at each side of the toe pocket with the inner set of each pair 15 spaced, the distance'of a needle for example, from the outer set so as to produce toe gores it having spaced suture edges formed by the coincidence of inwardly shifted spaced loops with untransferred loops, the suture edges inclining 2o inwardly across the wales in substantial parallelismior the major part of each gore. At the point 3 the rate of narrowing, or effective inward movement of the loop transfer points, is increased andyas a'result, the suture edges of 25 the gores while continuing parallel extend at a more acute angle of inclination across the wales so that in this near-end part of each gore the suture edges thereof are angularly disposed with respect to the corresponding edges .of the main or 30 upper parts of the gores. v

When knitting and narrowing ofthe toe pocket has proceeded to the point 4, covering blades or. other like members are brought into actionfor progressively eliminating the innermost loop transferring points of the inner set of points at each side of the toe pocket thereby causing the inner suture edges in the tip portion of each gore to incline reversely across the wales to con- I vergence with the end parts of the outer sutures 40 as narrowing continues at the more rapid rate until. junctions of the converging sutures are effected in the wales 5 as knitting of the toeiis .completed along the line 6, 5, 5, 6.

Th number of points employed in the-two sets for each side of the pocket, or their initial positions in registration with the needles, for shifting loops inwardly is such that as narrow-" ing of the toe pocket is effected the resulting parallel suture-edge of each gore extends gradually inwardly across the wales in such positions relatively to the sides of the toe pocket as to locate almost all of each gore h wholly outwardly of the needle wales 5 in which the end portions of the sutures come together at the tip the toe pocket, and substar'rtially parallel outer seaming edges of said toe sole portions,- as clearly shown in the drawing.

Inwardly beyond these wales there is only a.

minor part of each gore adjacent the tip thereof where more rapid narrowing causes the more acute inclination of the sutures so that each outer suture may extend to, or reach, the wales at'the end of the toe pocket and form a junction with the reversely inclined parts of the inner sutures wh.ich results from covering" inner narrowing points. Consequently, the carrier supplying the additional yarn for the toe-pocket part I may be given a traverse suflicient to reenforce an area of such size as to extend over the tops of all .the toes and partially over the sides of Y the outer toes. thus aifording additional strength in the portions of the toe pocket at which wear is greatest, relative to the undertoe portion 9'- This reenforced portion f has a major gradually narrowing part f defined by the inner sutures of the gores inclining gradually inwardly across the wales as the toe pocket is narrowed to the point 3 a contiguous more rapidly narrowing part I defined by the more acutely inclined porn tions of the inner sutures, anda widening part ftural strength desired over all the toes and along the sides of the outer toes. and said under-toe ago-isms section has substantially reduced thickness and correspondingly increased elasticity relative to said toe-covering section.

What I claim is:

1. A stocking having a toe-pocket formed I from a fashioned flat-knit blank comprising a narrowing central section defined by opposite side gore sections of angular shape havingsuture lines of connection to said central with angular bends intermediate their length conforming 10 to increased inclination of narrowing at the front portion of said central section, and an outer section forming a foot-bottom portion of the blank, connected to each gore section by a suture line a spaced from and parallel to the corresponding suture line connecting said gore section to said central section.

2. A stocking having a toe-pocket formed from a fashioned flat-knitted blank comprising, a central narrowing section, an outer section spaced adjacent each side of said central section, and an interposed gore section connecting each outer section to said central section, each of said gore sections having an angular bend intermediate its length and parallel marginal suture-Ilnes-QS of connection to said central section and its respective outer section.

-3. A stocking having a toe-pocket formed from a fashioned flat-knitted blank comprising aitoecovering narrowing section. under-toe outersections, and interposed gore sections; each of said gore sections having parallel marginal suture lines of connection to said toe-covering and under-toe sections respectively and an intermediate bend adapted to form'a rearwardly widened toe-covering section, and said under-toe sections having substantially reduced thickness and correspondingly increased elasticity relative to said toe-covering section.

' RICHARD P. BORNER. 4o. 

